From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
There are really no defeats in life, just opportunities to become better, stronger.
You cannot show-off in space, we must be humble. The only purpose for us to seek journeys into space is to learn about the unknown. That's a spiritual conquest. Leaving the solar system has no commercial benefits.
Chosen suffering is part and parcel of a meaningful life. If you don't have any chosen suffering in your life, you're probably not living the best life you could.
Algorithms will soon surpass our innate ability to cater to our health, wellness, and overall well-being. As this unfolds, uncharted realms of purpose and significance will surface, ones we can't currently fathom. The act of humans making choices will become a mere memory. We'll be spectators in a novel arena.
We have turned life into a business model- and have somewhat forgotten the reciprocity we have with nature rather; we just see it as a resource. We have maintained societies for thousands of years based on a reciprocal relationship with nature, and we need to get back to that and need to have respect for our fellow earthlings rather than seeing them as products.
While participatory culture can create a Wikipedia, it is not likely to produce something like the Star Wars franchise. I don't think that's a problem, because I don't think we have to choose between participatory and top-down culture – both will thrive.
We have learned that the things that matter are not the physical, and material things. What matters in life is hope. Tomorrow is not a given, and we must be happy about small things and we must seize the day.
I often hear people say that everything that matters must be measured, and if it can't be measured, it doesn't matter. I believe the absolute reverse. Nothing that matters can be measured. I don't think there's anything on this earth worth lifting a finger for that you can measure.
I don't think we can love God more than our greatest good. I think He is our greatest good. I don't think we can desire Him more than happiness. I think that ultimately, He is our happiness.
It's quite remarkable that we, creatures who evolved dodging predators on the African savannah, have been able to develop quantum mechanics. I find this to be a splendid evolutionary offshoot.
We must never confuse the pipe with the content. Today, we are fascinated by the pipe and nobody thinks of what is within. There is a pipe full of intelligence, and a pipe full of shit. You have to choose the good one, not the fascinating one.
Consciousness is any kind of subjective experience whatsoever. The philosopher, Thomas Nagel, put it like this, 'for a conscious organism, there is something it is like to be that organism…' – there is something it is like to be me, to be you, to be a dolphin – but there's probably nothing like what it is to be a chair, table, or iPhone.